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Not much info here. It was a credit union credit card which are not good in many overseas countries. And in Cuba bring USD.
In another comment board a poster said they were there in Playa Coco when this happened and this couple were obnoxious and making all sorts of allegations. Basically they damaged the room and didn’t want to pay.

Agree about the credit card, and up until now with the new dealings with the US… it was better to bring Euros or CAN $$$$ (Not US) Any kind of plastic money is not always reliable. As for someone else saying in another post that these people were obnoxious.. I have to believe it. I’ve been to this resort 4 times. I can tell you I have seen very drunk (etc) behavior out of guests and the staff graciously dealt with them.

This is what happened. Cuba is now and has been since the revolution of 1959 a dictatorship. The tip off on this is that the Castro brothers have ruled Cuba for 56 years. Centre left progressives who see things through emotions and feelings rather than facts just cant grasp this. The father of the new PM of this country thought the Castro brothers were just great people and their revolution was a step in the right direction. All the people jailed and taken out and shot were just collateral damage, or as Stalin was fond of saying, you cannot make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

Now it is possible that this couple are a pair of jerks who tore up a room and tried to avoid paying for it. But just remember that when you go to Cuba, it is not Coombaya 24/7 despite what President Buffoon of the USA might think. He of course prefers Hawaii.

John – You start your mis information session by “this is what happened” like your were in possession of the truth. You know nothing and I guarantee you have never even been there.

I have and I’d love to go back. Beaches are warmer than Hawaii and the people are friendly. No credit card that has a US head office can be used there. Our credit union card would not work there either but we knew that before we went. It’s called being prepared.

This couple admits they caused damage and seems they had a money problem. They seem to be making a story out of nothing. 750,000 Canadians visit Cuba every year and there are almost no stories of problems. I only know if one when a vehicle a son was driving was in an accident. He was detained for a number of days before being allowed to leave.

I just bet you are a Che fan too . . .
The guy who killed more of the folks “Per Capita” than Stalin . . .
Proof you say . . . Read Humberto Fontova’s Book on the tyrant.

The Turdough family has a thing for ole Fidel too . . . something about admiration for ole Karl I understand.

I would never spend a DIME or go to a country that TODAY still lock up folks that disagree with the Diktator.

Police ban library conference

HAVANA, Oct. 7, 2011 (Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez/CihPress) – On the morning of Oct. 6, the Cuban political police began to repress a group of independent librarians attempting to hold a conference. The conference was scheduled to take place at 9:00 on Friday morning; it was convoked by the College of Independent Cuban Teachers (CPIC, initials in Spanish) at the organization’s headquarters located at #10 Nomar Avenue in Havana’s Guanabacoa neighborhood, which is also the home of Evidio Emilio Ulloa, a veteran guerrilla fighter of the Revolution.

“On Thursday morning about 20 librarians from different parts of the country had gathered at the headquarters, but an army of [secret police] agents besieged the place, preventing others from entering,” declared Yacer Pineda Alfonso, a leader of the CPIC, in a telephone conversation with Hablemos Press.

Pineda said that “two agents of the political police who seemed to be chiefs of the operation said the Ministry of Education had indicated it would not permit any independent activity.”

“After we replied that we would go ahead with the conference anyway, they said we would see them later,” noted Pineda. He added: “They returned with more agents and posted them at the entrance to the [teachers’ organization] headquarters, impeding the arrival of additional librarians and invited guests.”

The CPIC’s membership now includes about 100 teachers fired from their jobs for disagreeing with the educational system established by the Communist Party in 2000. The majority of them currently have independent libraries in their homes where they teach classes and carry out various activities with neighborhood children….

Oh, I pushed Bale’s button didn’t I! WooHoo! Loser! You probably spend your holidays in the states because they are sooo much better than Castro.

Your colours are showing now Bale. Intollerant racist that pretends to be small c christian. You are a piece of work. You sure don’t deserve respect. Pity maybe. Do you ever have anything worth reading to say? I didn’t think so. Little people seldom do. Ford drivers even less.

Everyone here noticed that you didn’t because you couldn’t, rebut any of the facts about totalitarian dictatorships that John stated. Communist dictatorships jail and murder people who don’t toe the line. If thats what you believe in man up and say it.

Humberto Fontova is horrible writer. His books are like 200 page blog rants, mostly unreferenced. He’s a throwback to the original white elite exile. He just spews garbage to pander to his neo-conservative audience. He even has contempt for other immigrants like Mexicnas. He’ll be able to go to Cuba if and when it really opens up, but he’ll be a nobody. Any Cubans on the island that have read his stuff (I’m sure very few) have probably just laughed it off. He’s just another blowhard making an easy living ranting and raving and getting his spots on Fox News.

Why would I and other so-called ‘liberals’ read his books? He just insults people, rather than trying to make them allies – even in his book titles! But he doesn’t care about Cuba, he just cares about his own living. Why else would he just name call people that travel to Cuba rather than have a real, intelligent discussion on that he thinks might be best for Cuba? Oh, I guess because the goal isn’t to help Cuba. It’s to sell books to his base! I’d like to say the Cubans will get a good laugh at him, but when things open up, I have a feeling he’ll be ignored and fall into obscurity.

Good article on the independent library conference, though. It does illustrate real problems in Cuba. Of course, NOT written by Fontova.

Dale,
I’d suggest you don’t travel in Canada or the US then either. Those ‘dictators’ will lock you up for an indefinite amount of time if they decide (with NO proof) that you are a ‘terrorist’. And all it takes for that, is for you to speak out against a government decision.

Dale, DO NOT TRAVEL IN CANADA OR THE US… STAY HOME AND SURF THE NET LIKE A TROLL.
If you haven’t noticed, you can be detained in both Canada and the US now, simply for being under the suspicion of being a terrorist. Do you know what gets you on ‘that’ list? Simply by, publicly disagreeing with either government. Funny how you seem to have so much …. ‘knowledge’ from ‘reading’ about a country you have never been to, and don’t even know.
BTW, bring it, I have been there (Cuba) numerous time… including this resort…and we have family there.

Short of a complete retraction, “Really” has completely discredited himself.
He has gone far beyond “the slippery slope”, he has actually justified confinement of foreigners on a civil matters by a dictatorship and even tries to mollify those trivialities with the quality of beaches.

How ironic and disgusting that his sense of entitlement to freedom and contempt for those who speak up for it comes during the most “Respect for the Price of Freedom” week of the year.

You can say what you will. I will do as I wish. I don’t answer to any of you and really don’t care which political views you posses. That is still a free choice where we live. Not everything in life is political no matter how much you want it to be. This story has no political agenda and I didn’t bring one in. It is a great day to be a Canadian as all days are. I’m watching hockey and having coffee and would go to Cuba any day again. Their beaches are beautiful and the rum is great!

hh…. sorry, should have sent the second response to Dale on your post. Really didn’t discredit himself. If you are anti- whatever the hell your problem is… great. Don’t go to Cuba please. We don’t need you there. Enjoy your ‘freedom’ in Canada.

The grapevine tells me, that Americans (which we likely fall into, to a certain extent) aren’t or won’t be overly welcome after regular flights are scheduled out of the US. We have to remember, before Castro took over, the Americans raped and pillaged all over the country, even out in the sugar fields. I am sure there is still a bitter taste in their mouths.

And to Walker, I have a Credit Union card, and have found it works everywhere. You must have money in your account or you find yourself SOL, so go to your Credit Union Mastercard.
Anyway, if the two that damaged hotel property got snotty with hotel staff, and were in a pickle, maybe they should have handled the issue with sugar, not vinegar

MasterCard does not work in Cuba. It can’t be US based. It’s not that difficult to find this out. You can research all you need to know. You can’t enter the country without proof of medical insurance for example. That was not the case before the movie Sicko was released. Medical was always free there. No longer.

Before the Castro takeover . . . Cuba was one of the healthiest countries in the entire region . . . they were also a destination country for immigration.
The so-called revolution was not a revolution at all, but a takeover by a group of radicals led by ole Fidel and his murdering buddy Che . . .
Good read with folks who were there . . . “Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him ” by Humberto Fontova . .
Never to late to learn the facts . . . .

Prof Levin was the creator of the Ontario Sex Ed program . . . that has created much angst with Ontario parents for several years now.
He sat at the Parade in TO with Justin and good friend Wynn in 2013.
Last year he was arrested for creating and distributing kiddie porn . . . and was convicted and sentenced to THREE YEARS.
But . . . where was the Media?
Why it was all about Duffy . . .
Same program the BCTF is trying to introduce here . . . .

Being a Free Market Conservative/Libertarian . . . I am sure I would be appreciated by the Cuban people . . .
not so much by their Diktator though.

Wrong about the cars though . . . 40s and 50s car prices are in decline, much of what is in Cuba would cost much more to restore than they are worth today . . . my advice to you is buy a Turnkey car of your liking, most are selling for much less than a nice restoration.

The shear number of 50’s and 60’s era cars there completely blew me away. I expected to see a number of them but OMG there are sooo many. I have pictures I took at a stop on our way to Havana that have over 40 beautiful cars of every make. Unfortunately most are 4 doors. The rarest car I saw was a 1957 Chevy that was an El Camino style. We never had those in North America and it was perfectly built. It wasn’t just a chop. It was driving down the road in Varadero. It is a car lovers dream. I’m PVRing Cuban Chrome but haven’t had time to watch it. I’m undivided on wether I will. I’m not happy on what the US will do to Cuba again.

Bale – So you have been there and seen the cars have you? No you haven’t. I have and I am very aware of what a station wagon chop job looks like and this did not look like a chop job. I stayed that they were not in the North American market and it wasn’t a recent build. It had lots of wear but not I Nomad chop either. I don’t think the type of work they are capable of doing could have created that kind of job. It very well could have been a one off made for the DuPont family back in the day or some other rich American.

There’s almost no ill feelings towards everyday Americans there. There will be no problems for Americans that want to travel there. If it becomes a spring break destination, there will probably start to be ill feeling between American students because Cubans party, but don’t have the drunken party culture of Spring Break.

EbN
As of this moment, (who knows when all the new changes come in), it is always best to bring cash to Cuba. Plastic does not always work there, either debit or credit cards. KNOWING plastic doesn’t always work is information that is easily obtained.

if accident investigation methodology is applied to this story, the contributing causes leading to this couple’s horror “trip from hell” are easily identified and other travelers can take away recommendations to avoid a similar fate.

Obviously not ensuring that credit cards are an accepted payment method in the subject country may have been a major factor. We also do not know whether their credit card was in good standing with an adequate credit limit or whether it had been otherwise compromised by identity theft or third-party fraud. Of course their dilemma could have been easily avoided if they carried an adequate amount of cash to cover unforeseen events, emergencies or acts.

Which brings me to my final point. This couple could have continued to enjoy a wonderful and interrupted holiday by practicing a simple precautionary principle:

“Don’t indulge in behaviour which leads to trashing of the hotel room-accidentally or otherwise-even in our own country.” Then a potential credit-card problem is of no consequence.

If Cuba and its political ideology were wholly responsible for this couple’s dilemma, the solution for anyone else who has a problem with it, should just stay home. There is a clear choice.

I work at a BC Hotel and this couple is well known to us. The two times they stayed with us they caused damage, had stolen hotel property and came up with numerous complaints to get freebees ( including receiving the second stay free hence why they were here twice ) We were unable to recover any costs from these people. I would hope that news reporters would follow up with both sides before reporting a nonsense news article such as this. Witnesses staying at the hotel tell a different story than this couple.

Wow Leslie!
Awesome, because many of us thought they were like that, but didn’t know for sure. You should get a hold of Global, since they were nice enough to contact Air Canada on their behalf and get them a free flight home from Toronto…and they really should have paid. We have been to Cuba numerous times, 4 to this particular resort. I can tell you, they would have had to have behaved EXTREMELY, OVER THE MOON BAD, to get this treatment. I cannot tell you what abhorrent, drunken behavior these beautiful, hard working staff had graciously put up with!!!

I have worked in the hotel for over 20 years and they stayed over a year ago but I remember these people clearly because of their actions that completely floored me at the time as they carried such blatant arrogance. She goes by Katie and name dropped like she was royalty while she was a guest amongst other things. Just disgusting behavior, and I have seen a lot in the industry over the years.

Again, wow! I have stated on my other threads that her/their behavior had to be extreme, I’ve seen what this poor staff has had to put up with while we were there…and they are great. Me, not so much but they did appreciate that we had their backs. I will remember this info if any other trolls comment on my posts. I can’t wait for the tripadvisor reviews to start coming in. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of people who go to Cayo Coco from BC, but I do know a fair number from the east coast that go.
I’m sure she was over the top if you remember her from over a year ago.

I wish the media did a better job of checking the couple’s story because it sounds fishy,
In the CTV news last night, it was reported their problem was solved with the intervention of President Raoul Castro. Now what leader of any country will be bothered by such a trivial problem like this? Will President Obama be contacted to resolve an unpaid hotel bill? Of course not, so don’t believe these phony story.

This couple was on Global TV News. It was apparent they were full of BS. The woman said the police released them on the order of the Cuban president. Unbelievable. I regret the Cuban police didn’t keep them locked up for a few months to smarten them up.

OK, let me start by saying, we have been to this particular resort numerous times… most recently in Sept with our 3 children and 4 other family members. I can not stress enough how inaccurate this story is. Even more disappointing and disgusting is when our media doesn’t do it due diligence and just runs a story, I’m guessing for ‘views’, ‘likes’, and ‘comments’. I remember when being a ‘reporter’ meant they actually INVESTIGATED the story. For anyone stating negative comments about the country, I highly doubt you’ve ever been there. Before going to any foreign country, it is your responsibility to do your ‘homework’ and go prepared. The best way to get information is to talk to people who have been there, the more recent, the better. Next, call a travel agent and talk to someone who has been there. Final resort, internet (ie tripadvisor etc). I have done nothing but shake my head since Global aired this story and posted it on facebook, which in turn, sparked so much MISINFORMATION about this resort…and Cayo Coco…and CUBA. Do not RELY on plastic money for funds in Cuba (and it’s happened to me in Mexico) A LITTLE homework and you will KNOW this. There are very few atm’s anywhere on the entire island, and NONE on Cayo Coco (which actually is a small island off of Cuba made up of resorts) and so much, much more misinformation. Canada should be grateful that Cuba can’t sue us for slander. It truly is irresponsible on the part of the media to put 1/10? of a story out and let people natter at each other. I for one am waiting for the follow-up story, where the couple sends a payment in the mail, not only for the damage but for the trouble, cost, and maybe some of the loss of revenue when repairing the room. (That is the Canadian way after all, isn’t it???)
Feel free to question my logic, or opinion.

Thank you Really, this crap is getting on my nerves. Between the media and the idiotic comments/bickering/BSBSBSBSBS… everyone is throwing information around like they have been there, or know what they are talking about, it’s quite pathetic. I only listed 2 of the misconceptions/misinformation… grrr people are so stupid. >:(

What bad ammbasodors for Vancouver! Who goes into a foreign country and acts like vandals. They are lucky they didn’t get thrown in a Cuban prison where they belong. If they couldn’t pay for their damages they should have been turned over to the police. Real Classy folks.

I agree with you Brian. They have also damaged and stolen from a hotel in BC, twice, last year. (As stated by another commenter and who has personally dealt with them.) Wondering where the ‘news’ story is on that.

Time to grow up and be responsible for your actions children. Maybe you should have had that smack in the ass your generation needs. Welcome to reality, I hope those POPPIES were not placed on your coats for the camera. I really want you tomorrow to thank the MEN and WOMEN for all there sacrifices, and give thanks for living in the greatest country in the world. PS. If you want to live like an ASSHOLE I’m sure some other country will have you. Boo Hoo I want to call my Embassy.